Pipe-cutter.



J. T. BODKIN.

PIPE CUTTER.

APPLICATION IILBD MAR. 10, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Patented 0012.27, 1914.

J. T. BODKIN.

Patented Oct. 27,1914.

3 SHEETSSHBBT 2.

a WIN/E8858 @926 J. T. BODKIN. PIPE CUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 10, 1914.

Patented Oct. 27, "1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

WITNESSES INVEHTOR (25 SE. ZfioW/g A TTORIVEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JESSE 1'1. IBODKIN, .OF GHAT'ILNOOGA, TENNESSEE, ASSIGNOR ONE-HALF TO WILLIAM E. BEAVERS, OF CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE.

PIPE-CUTTER.

ters, of which the following is a specification.

devices for cutting pipe, more especially water pipe or other large pipe which is in use, for the purpose of making T connections, etc.,-and it consists in the combinations, constructions and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide a device the use of which will save time, labor and expense in cutting pipe.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device which will cut off a section of pipe smooth at its ends so that the section cut may afterward be utilized where it would ordinarily be ruined by those cutters whichmerely score the pipe at the ends of the section to be cut out and where the removal of the section is accomplished by breaking the section from the main pipe, with hammer-s or other tools.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device for cutting pipe which is provided with an automatic feed and which may be actually operated underneath water.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel features of the device will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming part of this application in which-- Figure 1 is a face view of the device, a portion of the device being shown in section, Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a central diametrical section through the yoke, gear, and pinion, the cutter holders being shown in elevation, Fig. 4 is a reduced face view of the yoke,

Fig. 5 is a section along the line 55 of Fig. 1, Fig. 6 is a view artly in section of the ratchet mechanism or manually operating the device, Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the bushing as assembled, Fig. 8 is a view of the opposite end of the device from" that shown in Fig. 1, the bushing being removed, Fig. 9 is a section along the v Specification. of Letters Patent. b pplioation filed March 10, 1914. Serial No. 823,827.

My invention relates to improvements in Patented Oct. 27, 1914.

line.9--9 of Fig. l, and Fig. 10 is a section along the line 101'0 of Fig. 8.

In carrying out my invention I provide a yoke, which consists of two semicircular members 1 and 2 (see Figs. 4 and 8) which are ivotally connected together at 3. Each of t ese members is provided with a later- .ally extending flange such as those shown at 1 and 2 respectively, the flanges being slotted at 4 to receive an eye bolt 5 which is lprovided with a nut 6 for clamping the ha ves of the yoke together. The eye bolt is mounted on a pivot pin 7 carried by the yoke member 2. The yoke members 1 and 2 are provided with a laterally extending flange 8 which forms an. annular bearing, as will be hereinafter explained.

Secured to the members 1 and 2 and forming integral parts thereof are lugs 9 having openings 10 through which pass the shanks of screw bolts 11. As will be seen from Fig. 4, these screw bolts extend on radial lines from the center of the annular flange 8. Within the yoke formed by the members 1 and 2 is disposed a bushing like that shown in Fig. 7. The bushing is made in two parts. Each part consists of an outer semicylindrical wall 12 and an inner concentric wall 13 connected with the outer wall by radially extending partitions 14. As will lie seen from Figs. 1 and 7 the inner wall 13 is tapped to receive the set screws 11, these bolts passing through openings 17 in the outer semicylindrical wall 12 which are in radial alineinent with the threaded openings 16.

larried by one of the yoke members, such as that shown at 1, is an extension 18 in which is mounted a stub shaft 19 bearing a pinion 20 (see Fig. 3). This pinion is adapted to mesh with a gear made of two parts which may be placed together and secured in their assembled position. One of these parts is shown at 21 in Fig. 1 and the other at 21*. The ends of the gear sections 21 and 21 are provided with tongued and grooved portions arranged to fit into one another, as shown at 22 in Fig. 1. Each of the gear sections is provided with a face I plate 23 and 23 respectively, which are coextensive With the gear sections. llhe means for holding the gear sections together is shown in Fig. 1. It consists of a plate 24 which is rigidly secured to one of the face are both precisely alike.

plates (the plate 23 in Fig. 1) and which is arranged to extend over the end of the adjacent face plate 23". The latter is provided with a dowel pin 26 arranged to enter an opening 27in the binding plate 24. A second dowel pin 28 is carried by the gear section 22 and extends through alined openings in both the face plate and the binding plate, and is provided with a wing nut 29. It will be understood that the opposite oint is secured in the same way. The cutting tools are carried upon these face plates and a description of one will suffice since they As will be seen from Figs. 2, 3 and 5, the face plate 23 is provided with an integral extension 23". Secured to this extension 23 are side guide member 30 (see Fig. 2) which are arranged to guide a slidable block 31. The latter is provided with a threaded bore 32 and with a slot 33 arranged to receive a tool 34, a set screw 35 being provided for admsting the position of the tool. A threaded spindle 36 has an end which enters the bore 32 and is provided with a collar 37 which is held 1n a recess of a cap 38, which is secured to the extension 23*. A collar 39 is securedto the spindle 36 above the cap (see Fig. The spindle 36 is provided wlth a star Wheel 40 and also with a hand wheel &1.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device the operation thereof may be readily understood. In cutting off a length of pipe as for instance a water pipe, the excavation need only be large enough so as to permit the opening of the yoke formed by the members 1 and 2, so as to clamp the yoke about the pipe. As will be seen from Fig. 1 when the yoke members are opened up the bushing members will also open up to receive the plpe. The yokeis now closed and the inner walls of the bushing members will be in close contact with the pipe, it being understood that bushing members of certain size are to be used for pipes of certain size. The yoke 1s now locked by means of the eye bolt 5 and the set screws 11 are screwed in until they firmly grip the pipe. The two halves of the gear members are placed around the pipe and the tongued and grooved joints are pushed together until the dowel pins 26 and 28 have entered their respective openings in the projecting end of the binding plates. The gear sections are now in alinement and it is only necessary to screw the thumb nuts onto the dowel pins 28 in order to firmly secure the gear members together, and thus render them a unitary structure. The gear as assembled is now moved along the pipe and fitted over the annular bearing member 8 on the yoke, thus bringing the large gear into mesh with the small pinion 20.

j'Po'wer may be applied to the shaft'19 manually or a drivifi'gpulley may be 'fas tened to the shaft and a motor (not shown) may be used to run the pipe cutter. In Fig. 6, I have shown a ratchet mechanism consisting of a ratchet wheel 4:2 whose hub 43 is arranged to slip over the squared end of the shaft 19. A casing 44 is provided to which a handle 45 is attached. A pawl 46 will permit the turning of the ratchet in one direction, but will ride idly over the teeth when the handle is moved in the other direction. As the handle of the ratchet is moved backward and forward the pinion 20 is revolved, and this causes the turning of the large gear. As the star wheel 40 moves around it comes into engagement with the end of an arm 47 carried upon a lug or extension 48 of the yoke. This causes the rotation of the spindle 36, and the consequent feeding forward of the tool 34.

Since there are'two cutters carried by the gear mechanism and two arms 47, each of the tools 34 will be fed forwardly twice during one revolution, thus making four separate advances during one revolution. These advances are slight and therefore the tool does not require forcing. The handle of the ratchet need only have a comparatively slight movement in order to cause the device to operate. With the present device it istherefore only necessary to excavate enough to permit the placing of the device upon the pipe.

It is, of course, immaterial as to the position of the yoke and of the pinion 20, that is to say, it need not be placed on top of the pipe, but may be placed in any convenient position around the pipe so that the handle may be Worked in any position aroundthe pipe in which it is convenient to Work it.

Another advantage of the device is that the section of pipe is cut cleanly and iquiiirely ofi'so that the section may be utilze My device obviates the use of the hammer on the section to be cut and thus permits the section to be removed and again utilized.

Another feature to which I desire to call attention is the fact that the use of this device to cut pipe will not necessitate the cutting off of water (where water pipes are to be out) until the second cut of the section is to be made. The pipe may be actually out clear through before turning off the water, since when the pipe first begins to bleed, that is to say, when the water first begins to leak out, it will form a pool in the excavation and can be pumped oif or run 011' without interfering with the working of the device, since it is automatically fed. The de-- vice may therefore work under water.

l/Vhile I have shown a device provided" with bushings it will be understood that in cases of large pipe the bushings ma be re- 5.

moved and the-pipe held directly by -the screws 11. The use of the bushings, however, I consider an important feature of my invention since when placed in position they form an integral part of the cutter, and as stated before are movable with the gear sections, since there is no way for the bushing members to drop off without withdrawing the screws 11 from the bushing. In Fig. 8, I have shown the device with the bushings removed.

It will be understood'that the pipe cutter herein described may be made in different sizes. With the use of the bushings, however, pipes of various size may be out very readily, thus one of the machines ma be used to cut pipes ranging in size rom twelve inches down to three inches.

Another feature of the invention to which I desire to call particular attention is the fact that the gear and the mechanism carried thereby when once brought into mesh with the pinion remains in mesh and does not require any means to hold the gear upon its bearing 8, because it is obvious that when the cutters begin to bite into the pipe there can be no movement of the large gear away from the small pinion, since the tools themselves will prevent any such movement. It is obvious that the tools 34: may be of greater or less length and perfect adjustment may be secured by means of the set screws 35.

The facility with which the gear sections may be put together or removed I also regard as an important feature, since it will be apparent that by merely removing the thumb nuts 29, one gear section may be slipped out from the other, and thus the gear may be taken off from the pipe.

I claim:

1. In a pipe cutting mechanism, a yoke comprising a pair of hinged semi-cylindrical members, means for securing the ends of said hinged members together, a bushing comprising a pair of semi-cylindrical members disposed concentrically of said yoke and Within the latter, and a plurality of radially extending set screws carried'by said yoke and arranged to extend through said bushing members, portions of said bushing members being threaded to receive said screw bolts.

2. In a pipe cutting machine, a yoke comprising a pair of hinged sections, means for locking the sections together, said yoke having an annular bearing surface, an annular tool holder arranged to rotate on the annular bearing surface of the yoke, a tool carried by said tool holder, means carried ing an annular bearing surface, an annular tool holder arranged to rotate on the annular bearing surface of the yoke, a tool carried by said tool holder,.means carried by the tool holder for feeding the tool toward the pipe, a bushing comprising a pair of semi-cylindrical members disposed concentrically of said yoke and within the latter, said bushing being provided with alined openings for the passage of the tool, and common means for holding the bushing in spaced relation with the yoke, for centering the bushing and for clamping the bushing to a pipe.

4. In a pipe cutting'machine, a yoke comprising a pair of hinged sections, means for locking the sections together, said yoke having an annular bearing surface, an annular tool holder arranged to rotate on the annular bearing surface of the yoke, a tool carried by said tool holder, means carried by the tool holder for feeding the tool toward the pipe, a bushing comprising a pair of semi-cylindrical members disposed concentrically of said yoke and within the latter, said bushing being provided with alined openings for the passage of the tool, and common means for holding the bushing in spaced relation with the yoke, for centering the bushing and for clamping the bushing to a pipe, said means comprising set screws carried by said yoke, and arranged to pass freely through the outer semi-cylindrical member of the bushing, the ends of the said screw being threaded in the inner semi-cylindrical member of the bushing for movement with respect to the bushing.

L. A. STANLEY, SoLoN C. KnMoN. 

